CONCORD, Mass. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 6, 2014 —
aPriori,
a provider of enterprise product cost management software solutions,
today announced the latest release of its industry-leading software
platform. aPriori 2014r1 delivers new enterprise capabilities that
enable users to better predict product costs in complex global
manufacturing environments and supply chains; cost more different types
of products and parts; and continue to expand usage across the
enterprise so more resources can identify and act on product cost
reduction opportunities. The release is generally available immediately.

“Global manufacturers face increasing complexity as competitive
pressures require multiple product variants tailored to local market
preferences,” said Julie Driscoll, aPriori’s vice president of strategic
marketing and product management. “Sharp fluctuations in commodity
pricing and availability, the increasing cost of outsourcing and related
quality concerns, and sourcing decisions that can make or a break a
product’s profitability; all these dynamics make it more difficult to
accurately predict product costs. To manage effectively in these fluid
environments, manufacturers need to be able to evaluate multiple cost
scenarios in real time and synchronize their efforts across their
design, manufacturing and sourcing organizations. aPriori 2014r1 is
specifically designed to help users address the challenges created by
this increased complexity and unpredictability.”

The aPriori platform is architected to provide engineering, design,
value engineering and sourcing professionals with real-time cost
information on parts and complete products. It is the only commercially
available product that reads 3D computer-aided design files to automate
the generation of cost inputs and uses intelligent cost models to
determine feasible manufacturing methods and product costs. The software
also enables users to leverage data hosted in other critical enterprise
applications to communicate product cost information between all
functional organizations involved in product definition and delivery.
This includes the import of complex engineering Bills of Materials
(BOMs) from ERP, PLM and other enterprise applications.

aPriori 2014r1 extends the platform to support assessing cost value
trade-offs and increasingly complex manufacturing and sourcing
strategies with new enterprise capabilities:

New, out-of-the box manufacturing process cost models - expand
the types of components and finishing operations aPriori users can
cost and capture the full series of costing events in the product
development lifecycle.

Synchronized product design and cost information across the globe -
increases collaboration across globally distributed design and
manufacturing organizations, reducing costs and time to market.

“Most product cost management solutions enable cost experts to generate
and analyze cost estimates,” added Driscoll. “That’s helpful, but
limited in potential impact. By providing individuals across
manufacturing organizations with the ability to assess complete product
assemblies, collaborate with cost experts and consider all the different
potential cost scenarios across design, build and sourcing, we can help
manufacturers prevent critical cost surprises, effectively manage to
more aggressive cost targets and deliver much greater ROI to their
organizations.”

Specific new features available in aPriori 2014r1:

Support for Additional Manufacturing Processes and
Parts

aPriori 2014r1 extends the platform with 16 new cost models across sheet
metal fabrication, gear- making and machining including unparalleled
capabilities for costing complex machined components that are typically
expensive and difficult to estimate:

2-Model Machining - using CAD models of near-net form parts and
finished parts to calculate the cost of machined castings and
forgings. This simplifies the costing process, requires less user
input and provides more precise cycle time and cost estimates. A demo
(8:38) can be
viewed
here.

Stock Machining and Secondary Machining Enhancements –
providing user-guided automation and more powerful diagnostic tools to
enable more accurate and complete costs for heavily machined parts
which may drive the cost of a product.

Improved Support for Meeting New Product Target
Costs and Reducing Current Product Costs

Flexible Assembly Scenario Costing and Analysis – streamlines
the evaluation of multiple assembly configurations and cost
alternatives such as variance in annual volumes or manufacturing
location. Highlights include the ability to create and edit assembly
scenarios, and copy welds from one assembly to another.